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Review by kymned 
member for 10.5 years, 1 visits, last login: 10.2 years ago
updated 10.2 years ago
 Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
 $49 per month about 5 days Cincinnati Bell "Very good reliability, good speed, good pings." "Newsgroups are slow and limited" "Excellent service for the money. Is there better?"
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Well I've done some investigation now, and here's what I've found. With Roadrunner, in Norwood, I get 250k per second transfers from their newsgroups. That's TWENTY times the speed of the Zoomtown newsgroups. Unfortunately, Roadrunner has FEWER newsgroups than Zoomtown, and the content is much thinner. (Items seem to rotate out of the groups much more quickly than Zoomtown)
So.. I decided to sign up for one of these seperate news-group "services". I gave "Active-news.com" a shot, and I'm truly disappointed. They have a TON more groups than both Zoomtown and Roadrunner (120,000 of them!), but there retention is about as bad as Roadrunner. I'm going to keep trying and see what I find out there. There has to be a better way!
I've had Zoomtown for about 2 years now. Everything's been hunky-dory, with the exception of a few evenings or weekends, when the service goes down all-together. (This happens maybe once every 6 months, and could go for as long as 36 hours or so) I used to use their standard service, and got good upload and download speeds, as other reviewers have shown. I recently upgraded to ther "hyperspeed" service, which helped some web and FTP download speeds, but did not address my primary concearn. I have recently gotten into surfing the newsgroups, and have run into a serious bottle-neck. My download speeds will not exceed 16k per second. I can access 4 newsgroups at once, with Xnews, but each one will max out at 16k per second, ALL THE TIME. I tried another newsgroup surfing program, with the same results. I called my ISP (One.net), and they blamed it on Zoomtown. I called Zoomtown, and they blamed it on my ISP. I recently tried Fuse.net, and ran into the same barrier, with the exception that I could only access 2 newsgroups at once, as opposed to One.net where I could access 4. (Needless to say, I went back to One.net!) Does anyone have any suggestions? Newsgroups are a high priority to me, at the moment, and I would prefer to be with the high-speed service that offers the best newsgroup access x-fer rates. Thanks!
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Review by stillfunkyb
member for 10.3 years, 0 visits, last login: 10.3 years ago
lodged 10.3 years ago
- Covington,Kenton,KY
- $39 per month
- about 10 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Mostly reliable service."
- "New router/bridge only has a 10mbit throughput."
- "What's the point of highspeed service if the network won't run at 100mbit?"
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I have never really had a problem with Zoomtown, but what makes me mad is the fact that I don't get great speed out of these new Lucent CellPipe/Speedstream modems(bridge). I guess I just don't really understand why it would only have a 10mbit output to your PC/home network. I got excellent speed with my Cisco 675 router, then when I moved I could no longer use it. Also the new router/bridge does not have a telephone jack in the back of it which makes it difficult being that I am in an apartment that only has 2 phone jacks. Honestly I have not tried Insight's cable service, so I an't say which one is better. I am thinking of trying their service, even though I know it's not as good as Road Runner. TIME WARNER PLEASE COME TO KY!!!!
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Review by onegravity
member for 11.9 years, 213 visits, last login: 39 days ago
lodged 10.6 years ago
- Terrace Park,Hamilton,OH
- $59 per month
- (month by month)
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Everything! HyperFast (1.5M Down, 768 Up), Always Working"
- "Can't send or reply to e-mail using POP Mail while traveling (thru AOL)"
- "These guys are GREAT!"
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I am a charter install with Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown (ADSL) Service [768k up/386k down], probably 4 1/2 years ago. Always reliable, always works.
Self-added NetGear 100K unintelligent hub to connect 4 home computers to single Cisco 675 DSL modem. Worked perfectly without any tech support calls. This was accomplished with different computers running under Win 98, Win 2000 Pro, Win XP Pro.
Upgraded service on August 28th to Hyper Speed [1536k up/768k down], for $59.95/month (from $29.95/month], and Cinti Bell/Zoomtown has delivered perfectly. Test results on DSL Reports have consistently shown 1302k up/700k down any time of the day.
Only problem, and likely a security issue, is, while I'm on the road traveling on business/vacation, is I cannot reply or send e-mail through the POP Mail server when I access through AOL.
Great job guys, glad Cincinnatians have Cincinnati Bell/Zoomtown!
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Review by jmiller99
member for 10.7 years, 7 visits, last login: 5.9 years ago
lodged 10.7 years ago
- Independence,Kenton,KY
- $39 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 14 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- "When it's good, it's okay!"
- "When it's bad, it's pathetic!"
- "I'm looking into Cable access, ZT DSL just isn't what it's advertised!"
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Where do I start? I guess from the beginning... several friends and I went together and signed-up for ZoomTown. Two pluses here, Internet access once logged into Fuse, then the final being ZoomTown - backbone access without having to connect to the Internet. Well, I've been disappointed with both. First, another user attached to the same substation as I cannot see me, nor me him, on ZoomTown's network. However, I can see my other friend located in Alexandria fine. Fuse/ZoomTown support answer to this, not a clue. I guess it's a NATing issue, or routing? Apparently their contracted support leaves much to desire.
My biggest complaints:
* too many hops internally to get out of their crappy network.
* barely adequate first-line support - can never get anybody that knows anything.
* pathetic network response and tremendous latency.
* network disconnects.
I'll be searching out @HOME soon. Is it any better? Certainly couldn't get any worse...
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Review by michael93
member for 11.6 years, 12 visits, last login: 9.8 years ago
lodged 11 years ago
- Hamilton,Butler,OH
- $39 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 7 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Fast, reliable service -would hate to go back to dialup..."
- "low-skill installation techs, tech support scripted/limited."
- "Great service, but you should learn how it works for best results."
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I ordered and recieved the 768k/384k service with dynamic IPs. It was installed over 18 months ago and took about a week or less for the installation tech to show up. The technician checked my line, then installed a Cisco 675 router and left me with a package containing the manuals, a NIC (since I already had one installed), and two cords for hooking up the router. The service is part of Cincinnati Bell's Complete Connections Universal package, which saves me about $40 per month on everything I have, but at the time the Fuse/Zoomtown package was running $39.95/month. Also, I got a "free installation" deal and didn't have to pay the $99 install charge.
INSTALLATION:
I had to help the installer complete my instal and then I had to finish the instal on a friend's computer -the guy couldn't find the correct NIC driver on the CDROM! I would advise anyone considering Fuse/Zoomtown to do the self-install unless the person is computer illiterate...then again, why would such a person want high-speed access? 
TECH SUPPORT:
While their regular technical staff seems to be very good at keeping everything running smoothly (see below), their tech support staff leaves a lot to be desired. They are obviously scripted and when the problem doesn't fit the script, they are lost. I had such a problem when I started messing with my little router's (Cisco 675) settings and screwed them up. The support agent's answer was to replace the router, but before it came to that I found information on how to fix it in less than five minutes by typing in a few critical commands to my router. I also reported an IP infected by a trojan, but the support agent receiving the e-mail didn't seem to know how to open a file attachment (my server's log file entries from the infected computer).
RELIABILITY/DEPENDABILITY:
The speed is great and I don't have to worry about the "cable problem," so I am very pleased. I have used multiple ISPs over the years and they all seem to have problems from time to time, Fuse/Zoomtown does, too. However, the reliability and service has been among the best I have ever experienced -they are "on the ball." In the 18 months that I have had the service, I believe the number of times I have not been able to connect to the Internet to be around 4 or 5 times, and all but one was for less than an hour.
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Review by Ron_Kaylor
(review was emailed from domain CINFIN.com)
lodged 11 years ago
- Fairfield,Butler,OH
 Business customer- $69 per month
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Cost and Tech Support"
- "Does not offer equal Upload/Download speeds"
- "Best I have seen based on price and service"
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I currently have ADSL Service provided by Cincinnati Bell under the name of
Zoomtown.
I have what they offer as Direct DSL which gives a static IP and a 1:1
connection.
The price for this is $69 per month and included Cincinnati Bell's own ISP
Fuse with 5 e-mail accounts.
Pros: Cheaper than any service I have seen on this site for my area. Not
by a little difference either but a LOT!
The Tech support know there stuff and I would guess many I have
talked with are MCSE's.
Comes on the phone bill, makes it simple.
They offer 1.5M/768K and 768K/384K much cheaper than other
companies
Never has went down on me in years
Cons: They do not offer real DSL. My speed is 768 Download / 384 Upload
and for $69 that is great Residential Service for the same is even cheaper
for the same speed you don't get static IP.
I wish they offered a higher Upload speed such as 768/768
Transferring your service with a move is a Hugh job.
Dr. Ronald W. Kaylor
Programmer - IT e-Business
513.870.2000 x4887
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Review by metallik
member for 11.3 years, 1 visits, last login: 11.3 years ago
lodged 11.3 years ago
- Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
- $40 per month
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Fast, reliable, good support"
- "No SDSL service available (nitpicking here)"
- "Compared to other horror stories I read here, Cincy has it made"
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I've been using the Zoomtown service from Cincinnati Bell for over three years and it has been quite reliable and fast. Except for a 4-6 week period about 18 months ago when Bell was reconfiguring the internal DSL network, the connection has been rock solid. You can use any one of many local ISP's with the Zoomtown DSL service.. I chose Bell's "FUSE" ISP due to a promotion that was running back when I signed up. Fuse has been a fine ISP - neither mail nor DNS has ever been down, although NNTP has been getting spotty recently (they contract to Supernews, and "too many connections from Cincinnati Bell" errors are becoming more frequent).
I have a Cisco 675 DSL router, and the service is standard ethernet NAT'd through the Zoomtown network - no PPPoE junk here. They do have a login mechanism that is a bit unusual, however.. seems to be a "different" way to oversell the service (as all ISP's do). You basically get four (six if you cheat) "static" IP addresses on the Zoomtown internal network (10.xx.xx.xx with subnet 255.255.255.248). These are always live, and are handed out by the Cisco thru DHCP, although if you want the last two of your six useable IP's, you must set them manually - DHCP only does 4. You can communicate with any devices on the internal network, including other Zoomtown/Fuse subscribers, but you cannot access the internet proper until you "log in" using a simple web form (username/password). Upon logging in, that particular "10" IP gets a route to the internet and you're good to go... on the outside, you have a routeable internet address. After a period of non-use, that route expires and the internet address is freed up for another user. Fortunately, the web-based login is a simple http-post method, and can be done by any browser, even Lynx. CRON'ing a command to launch Lynx with the appropriate POST url will effectively keep a *nix box online permanently. Windows users can use Zoombot to do the same.. not sure if there is a program for Macs.
The only "service" that is blocked is incoming port 23 across the whole Zoomtown network - this was apparently done back in the beginning to stop people from telnetting into un-password-protected Cisco's and hosing the config. You will have to make your *nix boxes listen on a different port if you need telnet (SSH is a better idea anyway). They don't seem to care if people run personal web servers or host mail or the like.Overall, good, solid service. Considering that Roadrunner is in town and also offers good service (per my RR-using friends), I can imagine the competition is helping keep the quality of all local ISP's above average.
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Review by jpatt225
member for 11.4 years, 775 visits, last login: 1.5 years ago
lodged 11.4 years ago
- Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
- $39 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 8 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- "Consistent Speed, Good connection Reliability"
- "Not many"
- "Get it!"
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I got Zoomtown (with Fuse as my ISP) last February (2000) and I love it. At first I had an issue with the router disconnecting quickly after no use, but then I discovered it was just a setting in the Cisco 675 (supplied with ZT). The pre-install setup was fine and the people at ZT were very nice in the phone. As for the installation, it took about an hour and there were no setup issues. The speed and connection was only bad once during a week of network upgrades, but since then it has been excellent. I get consistent 80-90 KB/sec downloads at anytime during the day (I have 768/384 speeds) My only gripe is that you have to log in to use the service, but there is third-party software that will do this for you, and you really don't have to log in very often. I have only had to call tech support 3 times, and it is helpful once to you get to one of the higher-level support people. I am very satisfied and highly recommend this service.
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Review by mjhalloran
member for 11.7 years, 1 visits, last login: 11.7 years ago
lodged 11.7 years ago
- Hamilton,Butler,OH
- $39 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 14 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- "Cheap, fast, reliable"
- "Customer service"
- "smooth ride"
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Service is good, though it was nearly three years between announcing service availability for the "vast majority" of their customers and actually reaching me. During that time, I could get no reliable information from the customer service people or their management as to their rollout schedule. Cinti Bell/Zoomtown brings my connection, but I use a different ISP (OneNet). Service overall is fine now that I have it, but oh what a struggle.
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Review by powerdr
member for 12 years, 19 visits, last login: 7.9 years ago
lodged 11.9 years ago
- Cincinnati,Hamilton,OH
- $39 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 7 days
- Cincinnati Bell
- CLEC party: Cincinnati Bell
- "Reliable, Easy Installation, No installation fee"
- "No static IP with basic service, Weak web site options, Periodic connection drops"
- "Best DSL solution in Cinci, many upgrade options, but they are pricy"
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768K/384K connection located in West Chester, OH. I have used the service for about 2yrs. and have been pleased with the DSL performance and support. I want to point out that Fuse (Cincinnati Bell's ISP) basic web site stinks! The only way to publish your HTML is through Netscape Communicator. They do not support Frontpage or Frontpage Express. The other way to move your files from your workstation is to manually ftp using thier web site. They also have a limited support for cgi.
To get a static "always on" connection is to pay $69/month for 1 IP address. Although, I heard that you can lobby them for another IP address if you can justify it.
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